The
Milton HersheyMilton Hershey School is a private philanthropic (pre-K through
12) boarding school in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Originally named the
Hershey Industrial School, the institution was founded and funded by
chocolate industrialist Milton Snavely Hershey and his wife, Catherine
Sweeney Hershey. The school was originally established for
impoverished, healthy, male orphans, while today it serves students of
various backgrounds. The
Milton HersheyMilton Hershey School Trust, which funds the
school, owns controlling interest in
The Hershey CompanyThe Hershey Company and owns the
Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company (HE&R) which oversees
many of the area hotels along with a theme park called Hersheypark.
With over twelve billion dollars in assets,[4] the Milton Hershey
School is one of the wealthiest schools in the world. The school is
overseen by a Board of Managers.
The school currently serves more than 2,000 students. A member of
CORE: Coalition for Residential Education, it is the largest
residential education program in the US.

Contents

1 History of the school
2 Students and student life
3 Controversies
4 Notable alumni
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

History of the school[edit]

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“It was Kitty's idea,”
Milton HersheyMilton Hershey always said when he spoke of
the Hershey Industrial School. “If we had helped a hundred children
it would have all been worthwhile.”[5]
Fifteen years younger than her husband, Catherine Hershey developed an
undiagnosable illness circa 1901, and was increasingly sickly for
years.[6] Hershey’s father, Henry, had been highly intelligent, but
not too realistic; his get-rich schemes never worked too well. Hershey
did not cope well with the instability; he had attended seven
different schools, yet never made it into the fifth grade,[7] so when
Kitty was unable to bear children, the Hersheys decided to give needy
kids the kind of upbringing he never had. Milton and Catherine Hershey
established a home and a school for “poor, healthy , male orphans
between the ages of 8 through 18 years of age.”[5]
On November 15, 1909, Hershey signed over the 486-acre (1.97 km2)
farm where he had been born, complete with livestock, to start the
school. In 1910, Nelson (age 6), and his brother Irvin (age 4) were
the first to arrive. Their father, who had worked as a polisher in a
Mount Joy foundry, had died after a long illness, and their mother
couldn’t support six children by taking in laundry. Their brother
William, 2, was too young to be admitted for two more years. Another
pair of brothers, sons of an Evangelical church’s pastor, arrived a
few days later.[5] The first class consisted of 10 students,[8] and by
1914, there were 40 boys enrolled in the school.[5]

While Hershey consulted with experts on managing the school, he used
three guiding principles to ensure the students had a good education,
a sense of stability and security: every graduate should have a
vocation, every student should learn love of God and man, and every
student should benefit from wholesome responsibility. The vocational
education program started with a woodworking shop, where the boys made
their own beds and chests. Although Hershey was nonsectarian, claiming
the "Silver Rule" as his religion, Sunday school was held regularly at
the home. Starting in March 1929, the boys got the responsibility of
doing daily chores in the dairy barns.[5]
After Kitty’s death in 1915,[6] Hershey gave his entire personal
fortune - thousands of acres of land, and controlling interest in the
company, worth US$60 million - to the school. He continued to be
involved in the school’s operations until his death in 1945.[5]
The organizational papers were modified in 1933, allowing the school
to accept older students, and again in 1951 to change the name of the
school from the “Hershey Industrial School” to the “Milton
Hershey School.” In 1968, the school was racially integrated,
although it wasn’t until 1970 that the organizational papers allowed
that, and another modification in 1976 allowed female students, who
started arriving in 1977.[5]
In 1989, the school stopped requiring students to milk cows twice
daily, reflecting a changed focus from vocational to college
preparatory education, but students were still required to perform
chores.[5]
Students and student life[edit]

The Homestead

Admissions are based on five major admissions criteria: (1) Age, (2)
Financial Need, (3) Social Need, (4) Potential To Learn, and (5)
Geographic Preference.[9]
The school gives preference to students from Pennsylvania, and
especially to students from Dauphin, Lancaster, and Lebanon
counties.[9] Tri-county students account for 28% of the student body,
with another 49% coming from elsewhere in Pennsylvania. The remaining
23% of the student body comes from 34 other states and from the
District of Columbia.[10] In 1982,
Milton HersheyMilton Hershey School admitted its
first international students, Ian and Edward Ritchie from Ottawa in
Ontario, Canada.
As of 2009[update], the student population of the school is 1,818.
Girls outnumber boys 945 to 873. The students are 46% Caucasian, 30%
African American, 11% Hispanic, 1% Asian, less than 1% Native American
and 12% other.[10] Approximately 47% of the students have siblings who
also attend MHS.[11]
A married houseparent couple with child care experience provides
full-time supervision for each residence, caring for 9 to 13 children
of the same gender, and about the same age. A student will share his
(or her) bedrooms with one or two other students.[11]
As of August 2007, all students in their Senior year live in the
Transitional Living program, which places 4 students in an apartment,
five apartments in a building, and two coordinators to oversee their
actions. The program exists as a college-prep movement, in response to
polls of MHS alumni which showed that many alumni felt unprepared for
college. The TL program is notably more relaxed than the student
homes, with fewer restrictions and rules. Transitional Living students
are taught how to purchase food for themselves and are required to
submit meal plans to their coordinators. According to the 2012 Health
and Wellness Initiative introduced by the school, these meal plans
must conform to healthy eating standards. They are additionally
expected to maintain a regimented level of cleanliness throughout
their apartments and common areas.
Students are "plainly, neatly, and comfortably clothed, without
distinctive dress".[9] Students wear a uniform of "coordinated
clothing" to classes and other designated school functions. School
policies say students may have a limited amount of approved leisure
and dress wear, and if the student's family or sponsor cannot buy it,
the school will.[12]
Each child is encouraged to explore belief in God and in prayer,
although the school is non-sectarian.[9] By school policy, students
are required to attend a weekly Judeo-Christian chapel service on
Sunday mornings.[13]
Student homes, academic buildings, and other facilities are mostly
located within rough walking distance of one another. The centerpiece
of the campus is Founders Hall with an auditorium seating 2700.[14]
In September 2007, the school opened its Springboard Academy, a
program geared toward new incoming sixth and seventh graders, to help
with transition into the core program. In 2008, the program changed
from sixth and seventh graders to eighth graders. Springboard Academy
was housed on its own campus, where about 84 students lived in
cottage-like dormitories. The program featured a non-traditional
curriculum, where reading and math skills were taught in an experience
based setting. However, the program was designed to help reduce the
attrition rate of students enrolling in
Milton HersheyMilton Hershey School, and
after 3 years the program was shut down since no measurable evidence
of its success could be established. The school's president, Dr.
Anthony Colistra, officially announced the closing of the program in
2010[15]
Students are also encouraged to participate in activities such as
visual and performing arts, athletics, student government association,
mentoring/tutoring, and work-based learning.[16] The school has seen
success in such activities such as track and field, boys' basketball,
boys' wrestling, and field hockey. Its athletic teams participate
interscholastically in District 3's Mid-Penn Conference.
The school is the nation's biggest and wealthiest boarding school for
needy children, with $7.5 billion in assets for 1,900 students.
Hershey spends about $110,000 a year per student, according to its
nonprofit IRS tax filing, more than the nation's most expensive and
elite prep schools.[17]
Controversies[edit]
In December 2011,
Milton HersheyMilton Hershey School found itself in the midst of
controversy after an
HIV positiveHIV positive student was denied admission. In a
lawsuit filed against the school on behalf of the unnamed boy, the
AIDS Law Project of
PennsylvaniaPennsylvania claimed the school violated the
Americans with Disabilities Act. School officials said that the boy
was denied admission to protect other students. The school later
apologized and offered the boy admission to the school, which he
declined.[18] On September 12, 2012, the school reached a settlement
with the AIDS Law Project of
PennsylvaniaPennsylvania in which the school would
pay $700,000 to the student and his mother while also paying $15,000
in civil penalties and providing HIV training for students and staff
members.[19]
In June 2013, 14-year-old Abbie Bartels, who had a history of
depression, committed suicide after being barred from attending a
graduation ceremony.[20] Julie Bartels, Abbie's mother, said the
school made an "inhumane decision".[21]
In May 2016, it was reported by
The Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer that the
school was being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice for
possible civil rights violations by not accepting students with
physical disabilities and expelling those who present mental
disabilities.[22] In December 2016, former student Jaiden Buchan filed
a lawsuit against the school, alleging that she was, among other
things, unjustly charged with a crime she did not commit and
subsequently expelled.[23]
In July 2017, court documents revealed that former student Adam Dobson
said he was forced to watch a video meant to convert him from
homosexuality. The school's lawyers admitted that such a video was
used by Hershey house parents and that it was shown to at least one
student.[24] A second former student, Marcous Marchese, told The
Philadelphia Inquirer that he felt forced to watch a religious
anti-gay video.[25] In October 2017, federal judge Christopher C.
Conner tossed out two lawsuits, one filed by the parents of Abbie
Bartels and another one filed by Adam Dobson, ruling that the school
has no broad social responsibilities for the welfare of its students
beyond a four-page contract.[26]
Notable alumni[edit]

Deesha Dyer, White House Social Secretary, graduated in 1995.
Garry Gilliam, Penn State University offensive linesman and NFL
player, graduated 2009
Nellie King, a former major league pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates,
graduated from the school in 1946.
Trymaine Lee, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and national reporter
for MSNBC.[27]
Joe Senser, a former NFL star tight-end for the Minnesota Vikings,
currently on the board of the
Hershey Trust Company and Hershey
Entertainment & Resorts Company, graduated from the school in
1974.
Andrew Joseph Stack III, who flew a
Piper DakotaPiper Dakota airplane into an IRS
Building in
Austin, TexasAustin, Texas as a tax protest in 2010. Graduated in 1974.

The Young Men's Leadership School at Thomas E. FitzSimons High School
(Philadelphia)

Became co-gender

Central High School (Philadelphia)

Private boys' schools

Philadelphia area

Devon Preparatory School
Father Judge High School
Holy Ghost Preparatory School
La Salle College High School
Malvern Preparatory School
Monsignor Bonner High School
Roman Catholic High School
Saint Joseph's Preparatory School